We liberate Europe from the Axis Powers in Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes …

Share this story

Bringing 3D games to the Apple's touch-oriented platform is still pretty rare, but Gameloft is doing its best to be the first game developer exclusively associated with the genre. Not only that, but the company is working to put out quality action titles for the App store. Previously, we were taken to Ancient Greece with Hero of Sparta; this time, we're liberating WW2 Europe from the Nazis in Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes.

The game tells the story of soldiers in the 101st Airborne as they fight their way through a total of thirteen missions across the regions of Normandy, Ardennes, and Tunisia. The story here is pretty basic, not much more than "go here, shoot these guys," but most players don't really need much of a plot when they're taking on Axis forces across Europe.

The way the game works is pretty simple: utilizing a thumbstick-like interface on the lower left-hand corner, players control the direction their character moves. If you push up on the circle the character will run forward, pushing down makes them move backwards. Meanwhile, dragging a finger across the screen will manipulate the game's camera. Finally, moving two fingers apart on the screen (as one would normally do to zoom in on a web page) zooms the point of view into a close-up aiming mode that makes it a bit easier to pick off enemies from a distance.

It takes a little while to get the hang of the gameplay, as the circle is a bit touchy and the camera requires a little while to get used to. Even then, moving a soldier properly is a bit tricky at times, as the movement controls seem overly sensitive; if your thumb rolls back at all, your character could easily wind up moving in the opposite direction you intended. Not only that, but manipulating the camera is a bit difficult when you find yourself in the middle of a hectic firefight. Thankfully, the auto-camera is surprisingly solid and does a decent job of keeping track of enemies on its own and the game's auto-aim feature is incredibly effective.

Much like the other titles by Gameloft, Hour of Heroes features some stunning graphics: the game provides some quality PS1-like visuals that do a great job of presenting a war-torn Europe as you travel through it. Much like Hero of Sparta, this is one of the best-looking games available for the iPhone. Meanwhile, the audio manages to sound pretty realistic, though it's surprisingly loud and doesn't automatically mute if you turn your iPhone to silent; if you want to play it stealthily, make sure to go into the game beforehand and mute both the sound effects and the music.

Overall, this is an extremely impressive action game for the iPhone thanks to the in-game graphics engine and the solid play mechanics. Once you get the hang of the controls, Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes is a solid game that is will be greatly enjoyed by anyone who enjoys WW2 shooters.